Close to Me
by The Bud
Summary: What happens between unrequited lovers with a conscience. A what if Magneto had never killed Jean Grey.
1. Chapter 1

Because I don't own this, I have to tell you at least as much.

Too Close to Me.

"I don't think it right for us to be together." He doesn't say it, but he thinks it, no matter what it is he feels. With her, it is all he has to do is think. Her perfume reaches his nostrils, the delicate nuance of vanilla bringing him excitement and comfort at the same time. She feels it herself, that right now, at this time, to be together would be wrong, but the attraction feels undeniably right.

The wind moves over her kiss swollen lips, cooling them slightly. Her body rises slightly as he touches her face, more in love than at any time any man can remember.

"But, I love you." She whispers over the chilled fall wind, her hair crossing her face as she looks down. The newly fallen leaves, not yet ever dampened with a morning dew swirl around them almost as though due to some unnatural force, and with her here, that could be correct. "This isn't easy."

"It's not easy for me, but you have to think about Scott." He tells her, wishing she wouldn't stand so close to him, but at the same time, just wanting her closer. He wants to feel her body pressed against him, if only to warm his skin against the cold. "I wanted things to be different."

"Why should I think about Scott?" She looks up at last. "He's moved on, he's got Emma." He wants to kiss those bruised red lips again, her hair is catching the fiery glint of the setting sun as it turns the ground below them a brazen yellow.

"The ring around your finger says different. You've not taken it off." He says in hushed tones, almost as though saying it won't make it so. "Besides, you need someone your own age." He feels like crying inside, having to let the love of his nearly eternal life go, perhaps the only other person in the world that could understand him. "I promise I'll always be here for you."

"You shouldn't make promises like that." She laughs slightly as the green in her eyes shows particularly well in the remnant sunlight. "And, I only wear this ring because he won't take it back."

"So leave it on the dresser stand if you don't think you and Scott can patch things up. I don't want to be second choice." Logan sniffs as he lights his cigar. "Now get going, Scott's going to start to wonder."

"You aren't second choice, Logan!" She bellows. "Scott just came along first. He'd been so much I couldn't leave him, it wasn't right!" She calms down. "Besides, he's with Emma tonight. He said he had some research on a mutant problem to do, but I can't believe him. He doesn't even pretend to care anymore."

"I noticed that when you two said good by, but you still kissed him, and what did he call you Jean?" He asks as he slumps against a tree. "It wasn't dear or honey or even Jean, What was it Jean?"

She pauses, unsure of how to answer. "Logan, I…" She twists the band of metal on her left hand finger.

"Jean?" He half asks. "What did he call you?"

"Wife." She whispers barely audible. "Just "Wife"."

"And you still want to stay with him while playing footsie with me under the table." He states bluntly as he looks away. "I'm not that kind of man."

"I know your not. And what we just stopped ourselves from doing isn't a game of footsie, Logan." She places her hand on his shoulder. "Look at me, Logan."

"No, because if I do, I'm going to do something I'll never forgive myself for, and you're too much of a good person to have to wake up every day facing what I'll do." He moves away from her and her intoxicating perfume. "You're better than Scott, Jean. I won't help you fall." He puffs again. "Remember when Magneto ripped the adamintium from my bones and I about died on that plane coming home, but you reached out and brought me back? I'm reaching out to bring you back."

"Logan, I don't love him the way I love you. You understand me, and Scott never has." She pleads with him, the wind catching her hair again, making refusing to look at her difficult, if not impossible. "This is what I think of his ring." She places it on the ground for him to see the light of the sun sparkling off it and she walks away from him. "Let it go."

"Jeannie, I'd love you forever if you would ever let me." He tells her, not realizing that she's gone until he hears no response. He sees her ring though as to grows cold on the ground and the sun sinks to sleep behind the mountains behind him. He thinks he can catch up with her, but she must have flown. He looks off the edge of the hill to see her land at the bottom, her aura of fire lighting her way as she goes. He could smack Scott right now as even in the distance he can see her cry, but he can't go to her. He goes home another way as she slinks to the ground weeping. Somehow, he knows she heard what he said, but doing what's right and doing what feels right comes at two different costs. And this day, doing what's right cost him more and her more than either could afford.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer ahead! I don't own these please don't sue.

Why are We Wrong?

"Let me see, and don't try to hide it telepathically from me." Logan says gently as he moves a strand of hair away from his beloved's face. "I can smell the damage on you."

"Logan, I've got a class to teach, and Scott could be here any minute!" She looks up at him from her swiveling teachers chair, than away towards the door in worry. "You've got to go."

"Show me what he did, and I'll consider it." He tells her, hands folded across his chest. "I don't like the thought of him hitting you."

"Logan, he didn't just hit me, and if you don't go, he'll do worse." She pleads as her students start to file into the hallway from their other classes. She sighs. "The mutant he was researching is me. He stole something from my protocol file, or Emma had it reproduced."

"So, let me see what the bastard did so I can kill him." Logan says bluntly, just before the first of Jeans students walk in. "What's that on your wrist?"

"It's a power inhibiter, one custom made for me." She explains telepathically as she shields Logan from the children's prying eyes. "I'm shielding you so they won't tell Scott you were in here." She looks at him warningly. "It works by a remote he carries, one push of a button and I'm defenseless. I can't even use my legs."

"I'll beat his face in to hamburger right now if what you telling me is true." Logan growled almost loud enough for some of the psi-sensitive students to hear.

"Mrs. Summers, did you hear that?" One boy mentally asks as his long tongue slinks forwards and back. "I thought I heard an animal."

"No, James, I didn't. Now, back to the lesson. This is how you thread a bobbin." She tells the students, never leaking once that there was indeed something of an animal in the room. "It's not his fault, Logan, there was something Apocalypse did to him, and he found out who I was with. He just went…"

"Don't make excuses for him, Jean!" Logan boomed and this time, the psi –sensitive students quite clearly hear him. "You're stronger than that!"

"I beg your pardon, Mrs. Summers, but I most defiantly heard something that time!" James insisted.

"I'm sorry, James, I was in telepathic conference with somebody. I'll wait for class to end to resume." She apologizes to her student. "Now, where were we?"

"Threading the under toe." One girl chipped in. "And using different color threads."

"Ah. Thank you Amelia." Jean says. "Logan, you're welcome to stick around until after class, the children will be at lunch, I'll tell you then."

"What are you doing the rest of the day?" He questions. "I'd stay away from Cyke."

"I'm teaching a few students to mask themselves mentally." She says and class goes on until lunch. "O.K. Young adults, tomorrow we're going on a field trip to learn to choose fabrics and patterns. Bus leaves at ten, we'll be back in time for gym class!"

The collective groans of the students echo in the room, along with one "That gym teacher stinks! Literally!"

"Aren't you that kids gym teacher?" Jean whispers as the children file out of the room.

"Yeah. It's a long story involving laps and my armpits." Logan snarls. "Now show me what he did."

"Logan, please don't do this." She pleads as he holds her face. "If Scott found out…"

"He should be worried about what I'm going to do to him. What kind of man beats a defenseless woman?" He looks at her. "How did he get that cuff on you?"

"In my sleep, that's how." She grimaces as his hands touch a sore spot. "There must have been something in my tea, I never knew a thing until he shot the legs out of the bed."

"That looked like that hurt." Logan breathed as he felt her face. "Show me what I touched."

She shows him, and his mouth hangs open, speechless. It's not an easy feat for Wolverine. One eye is swollen shut and her lips are both swollen and bruised. Her nose is purple, if not broken and her forehead is a swollen, cut mass. She must have lost some blood through that. "Is there anywhere else, Jean?"

"Logan, just promise me you'll stay out of this! She begs him.

"I can't, not now. You need some help!" Logan tells her shocked as he pulls her shirt up to see the prominent welts on her back and side. "You're going to come with me. Now!"

"No, Logan. I won't. If he can do this to me, and actually get off on it, I don't want to see what he'll do to you." She breathes through the pain of settling back into her chair. "This was my warning to stay away from you."

"If he loved you like I do, he'd never do this to you." His hands grip by his sides. "Is that a boot print on your leg?"

"You've got to go, he's coming, Logan!" She nervously tells him.

"I won't let him break you." Logan bellows. "I'm going to stay right here."

"Then you give me no choice but to put you out myself." She says as her eyes become orange and he finds himself in the bathroom upstairs.

"Jeannie!" He calls out, banging on the floor, much to the dismay and disgust of a student leaving the facilities. "I'm not going to let you do this!" He shouts as he tries to leave the bathroom, only to find his way blocked by Jean's force field. It doesn't last long, and Logan knows why, Scott has pushed the button.

"So, who were you in conference with Jean?" Scott asks, his eyes flashing behind his glasses. "It wasn't me, so I wonder just who it could have been. You don't want to tell me?"

She sits in her chair, unable to move her limbs, but her eyes as defiant as ever.

"Come now. I know you can talk, I've heard you scream." He grins a toothy grin as he raises his fist to her, bringing it within hairs width of her face before bringing it back.

She gasps slightly, giving him the satisfaction he seeks.

"That wasn't so hard, was it?" He laughs as he steps away for a minute. "So who was it?"

"Scott, this isn't you!" She tries to reason. "Whomever is doing this to you, whatever has done this to you, we can help!"

"Don't you tell me who I am!" He shouts enraged as he brings his hand down on her face.

"Then who are you?" Logan's voice comes from behind Scott. His white shirt covered in grease from having to shimmy down the elevator shaft to get here, his claws extended and his hair wild, complimenting his now torn and bloody jeans.

"Why not take the stairs?" Scott asks sarcastically as he sneers at the man before him. "Did you just want to be her hero?"

"She blew the stairs out after that kid got down. I guess she was protecting you." Logan snarls as he advances towards Scott. "I haven't seen Emma all day, what'd you do to her? Anything like you've done to Jean?"

"Emma got what she deserved." Scott laughed. "She's just smart enough to stay at home."

"Logan, Stop! He's not Scott!" Jean shouts from her collapsed position.

"Yeah? Than who are you, big boy?" Logan rumbles as he leaps forward.

"You can call me, Eric the Red." Scott dismisses him with an optic blast. "Scott is dead."


End file.
